Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $160.00 to $156.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.33% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $137.65 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.28. The stock has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.